A, B, C OR D?

If you answered yes to all of the above congratulations. If not, you could be an accident waiting for a place to happen. When fire does strike, every second counts. During these critical moments is not the time to wonder where you put the extinguishers or to try and read the instructions. And if you don't brief your crew on the location and operation of the extinguishers in the belief that YOU know where they are, consider what might happen if you're the one caught in a sudden fire while refueling.

With today's labeling codes standardized by the Underwriter's Laboratories, Inc. choosing the right extinguisher for the right types of fires is no longer a mystery.

Generally fires are classified into four groups:

A - ordinary combustibles (wood, paper, grass, etc.)
B - flammable liquids
C - electrical equipment
D - combustible metals

In addition to these letter designations, A & B type extinguishers also carry a numerical rating code. Class A extinguishers are rated from 1-A to 40-A while Class B extinguishers are rated from 1-B to 640-B. Without going into a great deal of explanation, these number codes indicate the amount of fire the extinguisher can put out. A 1-A fire requires 1-1/4 gallons (5-liters) of water to extinguish. A 2-A fire needs 2-1/2 gallons of water (10 liters) or twice that of the 1-A fire. So an extinguisher rated 5-A will put out a fire five times as large as one rated 1-A. For Class B extinguishers the numerical codes are even more complicated, and generally this type of information is of most use to professional firefighters. Suffice it to say when choosing an extinguisher, read the label and choose one suitable for the size of fire you're likely to encounter or would attempt to extinguish.

To make life even simpler, most extinguishers are marked with a "picture-symbol" label that readily identifies which type of fires the extinguisher is suited to. This labeling system also identifies when not to use the extinguisher on certain types of fires. Most extinguishers made today come with these symbols already affixed, but if not, ask your retailer to apply the correct ones.

In addition to these codes and ratings, the selection of a fire extinguisher will depend on many other important considerations such as hazards to be protected, severity of the fire, atmospheric conditions, personnel available, ease of handling extinguishers, as well as any life hazard or operational concerns.

Today's portable fire extinguishers come in many shapes and sizes, some small enough to fit in a tool box or your vehicle's glove box. While the operating procedures of most extinguishers are similar, all who may need to operate the extinguisher should read the label directions and become familiar with the extinguisher's operations.

If you're one of those who likes to reduce everything to simple letters for easy memorization, try thinking P-A-S-S.

P - Pull the pin at the top of the extinguisher that keeps the handle from being pressed. Break the plastic or thin wire inspection band.
A - Aim the nozzle toward the fire. For extinguishers where the nozzle and hose assembly is clipped to the extinguisher's side, release the nozzle and point.
S - Squeeze the handle above the carrying handle to discharge the agent. To stop spraying, simply release the handle.
S - Sweep the nozzle back and forth at the base of the flames. Once the fire is out,probe for hot spots that could reignite the blaze and douse them with the extinguishing agent.

Another important note to remember is that today's fire extinguishers are designed to be carried upright. If the last time you handled an extinguisher was in a school fire drill, you may recall having to turn the extinguisher upside down before it would work. Today only obsolete soda-acid, foam and cartridge operated water extinguishers need to be inverted before operating. These should be avoided!

Just as the design of today's extinguishers has advanced, so too have extinguishing agents. These range from water to carbon dioxide to a variety of dry chemicals to Halon 1211 (bromochlorodifluoromethane).

More and more balloonists are opting for the Halon 1211 type of extinguisher because it is an excellent extinguishing agent, will work on class A, B or C fires and come in sizes from 2-1/2 to 22 pounds. A small halon extinguisher can put out a blaze many times its own size.

Halon 1211 operates on the principle of liquefied compressed gas, which will not support combustion, being discharged to smother a fire. Halon is stored under pressure and is ready for release at any time. To be most effective you should be within 8 to 18 feet of the fire and the extinguisher will usually completely discharge within 8 to 22 seconds. The initial application should be made close to the fire and directed at the base of the flames. Best results will be achieved if the discharge is directed to sweep the flames from the burning surface. You should begin by applying the discharge at the near edge of the fire and work gradually forward while moving from side to side.

A couple of final notes. If you have questions about selecting the proper fire extinguisher a good source of information is your local fire department. Generally they'll have a public fire safety officer who can offer tips and perhaps even provide a program for your next club meeting. And to the festival organizers out there, a small halon fire extinguisher makes an excellent "pilot pack" item.

This night time demonstration shows what can happen when a propane tank is discharging vapor, or liquid, from any of the valves. The tank was allowed to vent vapor for a short period of time. The picture on the left shows the fire ball that erupted when an ignition source was introduced. A few seconds later the picture on the right shows that the fire is now concentrated to the fuel source. A cutaway tank was used, thus the fire inside the tank on right.